page_title: Oued Fes
section_title: The historic water network of Fes el-Bali
hierarchical_section_title: Oued Fes / Oued al-Jawahir / The historic water network of Fes el-Bali
caption_attribution_description: English: A noria in Jnan Sbil Garden in Fes, Morocco
context_page_description: The Oued Fes is a river in Morocco. It is a tributary of the Sebou River and historically the main source of water for the city of Fes, after which it is named.
  The river consists of a number of different streams which originate in the Saïss Plain to the south and west of Fes before joining together in the area of Fes el-Bali, the old city of Fes. Over the centuries the river has been split and diverted into a multitude of canals that distributed water across the city and once powered a number of historic waterwheels. These various water channels converge into the Oued Bou Khareb which runs through the middle of the old city and historically divided the Qarawiyyin and Andalusiyyin quarters. After the river leaves the city it runs eastwards for a short distance before joining the Sebou River. The various branches and sections of the river, including many of the man-made canals, also have their own names.
context_section_description: Fes el-Bali's extensive water network predates the foundation of Fes el-Jdid. Its current outlines were begun by the Zenata emir Dunas ibn Hamama between 1137 and 1049, and then further elaborated by the Almoravid emir Yusuf ibn Tashfin between 1069 (the Almoravid conquest of Fes) and 1106. From the west, the Oued al-Jawahir flows eastward along the northern edge of Fes el-Jdid, passing through the Bab Bou Jat Mechouar, through the Dar al-Makina (a former arms factory), and then beneath the Old Mechouar near Bab Dekkakin before reemerging on its eastern side, on the edge of the Jnan Sbil Gardens. Here it emerges from four arched openings at the bottom of the Old Mechouar's ramparts and the first major man-made division of the river take place. This division creates a number of canals (many of them hidden under streets and houses) through Fes el-Bali which eventually spill back into the Oued Bou Khareb (the name of the river's main course inside the city). There are four main historic canal divisions: the Oued Fejjalin, the Oued el-Hamiya, the Sakiyyat el-Abbasa, and the Oued Shrashar. Most of these then split off into other canals as they progress through the city.
  The Oued Fejjalin is one of the most important divisions and from it the Oued el-Lemtiyyin also splits off to supply the northernmost parts of the city. The Oued el-Lemtiyyin passes under the Bou Jeloud area and travels under the houses of Tala'a Kebira street until it reaches the Bou Inania Madrasa. Here, in the vicinity of the madrasa, the water is collected by a large distributor structure made of brick and rammed and dating from the Almoravid period. This structure has three arched openings that lead into vaulted chambers from which the water emerges on the other side into three canals at different elevations, which then spread across different parts of the northern city.
  As for the Oued el-Hamiya, it splits from the other major branches at Jnan Sbil before dividing into more branches which mostly supply the southern parts of the city. One of its branches also once supplied, via an aqueduct, the Andalus quarter on the opposite shore of the Bou Khareb river. (Most of the water for the Andalus quarter, however, came from a canal which originated from other streams to the south of instead of the Oued al-Jawahir; see "Oued Masmuda" section below.) The two last branches, Sakiyyat al-Abbasa and the Oued Shrashar, supplied the regions near Bab al-Hadid and the gardens between Fes el-Jdid and Fes el-Bali.
  Many of these canals are now underground, with only some ancient toponyms hinting at former bridges that passed over them (e.g. the name Qantrat Bou Rous along a part of Tala'a Kebira). These canals and streams also feed a number of industries such as the historic tanneries of the city, the most famous of which are the Chouara Tanneries. A large number of waterwheels (known as norias or sometimes as saqiyyas) were located throughout the city's water network in order to assist in water distribution or to power certain industries. Some of these were very large, such as the huge noria which supplied the Marinid royal gardens of Mosara, measuring 26 meters in diameter and 2 meters in thickness. Only a few of these waterwheels have survived in some form, including some examples around the Jnan Sbil Gardens.
caption: A historic noria (waterwheel) located on the western edge of the Jnan Sbil Gardens between Fes el-Jdid and Fes el-Bali.
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